Hollywood has mostly avoided depicting the Taliban on screen, and it’s even more rare to see U.S. soldiers heroically battling this dastardly foe.

Director Peter Berg is itching to change that.

Berg’s Lone Survivor, hitting theaters Dec. 27 in time for potential Oscar love, details the true-life heroism of several Navy SEALs battling a massive band of Taliban soldiers. Lone Survivor stars Mark Wahlberg, who is having a rather busy 2013, Taylor Kitsch and the always arresting Ben Foster.

The film’s first trailer reveals talk of God and country, and an unabashed love of both in between standard wartime bonding.

Berg’s directorial resume remains uneven. His attempt at a generic blockbuster, last year’s Battleship, sank, but both The Rundown and The Kingdom showed his prowess in bringing action to the big screen. Battleship may have been a blunder, but accepting that assignment reportedly earned him the chance to tackle Lone Survivor.

That makes the upcoming film both a passion project and patriotic ode to U.S. warriors.